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Parents raise HVAC and air-quality concerns at Oasis Elementary North; city staff outline winter repairs
Summary
An anonymous parent raised repeated HVAC outages and black debris in vents at Oasis Elementary North. City facility staff said quarterly maintenance and duct/coil cleanings are scheduled over the winter break and that parts inventory and contractors (BNI Services) are being used to reduce recurring outages.
An anonymous parent asked the Cape Coral Charter School Authority on Dec. 9 when Oasis Elementary North’s HVAC units would receive full servicing or replacement and said they’ve noticed black debris inside vents.
Rory Alvarez, the city’s facility manager, said he joined the city three months ago and confirmed duct cleaning, coil cleaning and routine work are scheduled over the winter break. Alvarez said the last regular maintenance occurred about two months ago and that units receive quarterly service.
Damon Graham of Public Works Administration said the city contracted BNI Services for the larger chiller systems and that BNI has begun routine monthly and quarterly service. Graham said duct cleaning at Oasis North is planned during winter break because the work requires the building to be empty and that staff will notify the school if technicians find anything unusual during those inspections.
Board members asked about unit age and storm-related damage. Graham said many school roof and chiller systems are Trane units roughly 10–12 years old and that Hurricane Ian caused wind and control-panel damage statewide; the city temporarily supplemented systems with a chiller tower when replacement parts were delayed. He said the city is ordering extra control boards and other long-lead components to reduce future downtime but cautioned the city cannot stock every spare part.
Principal (name not provided in the record) and other board members asked staff to produce a follow-up inspection report. Graham and Alvarez offered to provide additional data on outage frequency and to compare outages with LCEC power reports if the board wishes.
The board did not take formal policy action during the meeting but scheduled duct cleaning and routine maintenance and discussed longer-term inventory and panel replacement strategies.
